Total Oil production (including condensates, Natural Gas liquids, and refinery gain) in the UK was 2.08 million bbl/d in 2004, a 13 percent decrease from 2003 and 30 percent below the peak of production in 1999. The UK Continental Shelf (UKCS), located in the North Sea off the eastern coast of the UK, contains the bulk of the countrys oil reserves. Most of the UK Crude Oil grades are light and sweet (30° to 40° API), which generally makes them attractive to foreign buyers.
The UK government expects oil production in the country to continue to decline, reaching 1.38 million bbl/d by 2009. Reasons for this decline include: 1) the overall maturity of the country’s oil fields, 2) the application of new crude oil extraction technologies that lead to field exhaustion at a quicker rate, and 3) increasing costs as production shifts to more remote and inhospitable regions.